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Thursday, September 23, 2010

Yesterday brought us the first day of Autumn, and tonight is the harvest moon. What better time to throw a Harvest Party?

Traditionally, the Festival of the Harvest has been celebrated for hundreds of years, dating back to pagan times. It was generally celebrated on or around the harvest moon and after Christianity joined the celebration, it was celebrated the Sunday closest to the harvest moon.

As my favorite season, I hardly need further incentive for celebration, but this was an opportunity not to be missed. Here is a glimpse at our preparations.

In addition to the typical harvest fare, much in the line of a Thanksgiving feast, decorations consisted of harvest related items--corn husks and wheat stalks and displays of fruits and vegetable freshly harvested. We created corn husk wreathes and adorned our table with a "Thanks Tree". Leaves with harvest related words hang from our tree, but guests could also write things they are thankful for and hang them on the tree as a reminder during the feast and festivities.

A man was traditionally chosen to be the "Harvest King" and lead the way in from the final harvest to the festival, but the corn husk crown was adorable on our girls as well.

Leading the way, the Harvest King would fashion a corn husk doll from the last sheaf of corn and carry her on a stick to represent abundance. These are simple to make and are a fun activity for the children to make.

And of course we must not forget gunny sack races. These girls couldn't get enough of them, and our party hasn't even begun yet! Our sacks are made of a little burlap and craft paint.

With the weather in our favor this week, we took our whole party outdoors. So to add to the ambiance, we created a little outdoor room by hanging linen curtains around our arbor. You might have also noticed we did not use totally traditional colors for our harvest party. As lovers of light and bright, we stuck to whites, creams, and other pale tans and browns with accents of blue. I love any excuse to use my ironstone and Fire King dishes. One need not always use golds and oranges to carry the feel of autumn in a party or seasonal decor. I love to decorate in colors that go with the style of my home.

We hope you have enjoyed our party preview and wish you a HAPPY HARVEST!